All posts tagged subway

A maddening wall that has long irritated Tokyo commuters by separating passengers on the same platform has finally been torn down.

The barrier, described by Tokyo Gov. Naoki Inose as a “fool’s wall,” was a symbol of petty line-drawing between the capital’s two rival subway systems–Tokyo Metro Co., owned jointly by the national government and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, and Toei Subway, owned solely by the metro government.

Demolishing the wall may be more than just a matter of passenger convenience–it could herald the way toward a more efficient, unified system. Read More »

Some of Japan’s most stubbornly persistent criminal activities have a common subterranean quality to them – there is the underworld of the yakuza organizations and the wily backyard underwear snatchers, for example. And then there’s the gropers on Tokyo’s underground train system. Luckily, efforts to tackle the problem are under way once again. Read More »

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